The friendship factor by Josie!!

Friends have a bigger influence in our lives than our own convictions, our parents, and even God.
They also have the power sometimes to out power the influence of God in our lives.

In YISS where we experience God, the minute we leave the campsite, the minute we hit back home, to familiar grounds, everything is back to normal once again. The need for acceptance is back once again, and the need for acceptance goes beyond the need for God. That's why we need to find a community, find friends that can help us to grow with the Lord, that puts God first in their hearts or not the material influences in the world will draw us even further from God even if we have experience God so tangibly in the camp that we went.

" He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. "

Fools are not stupid people, but people who do not really bother about the important things in life. They prefer not to care, rather do the less important things.

Question: Why does our friends have so much influences in our lives?

Most importanly, the need for acceptance!!
In life, we don't really choose our friends, but our friends choose us to be their friend. (make sense right). We do things, even though stupid inorder to be the people around us and we get affected when we are rejected by our friends.

Acceptance paved the way of influence. Dont get me wrong. Acceptance in healthy, but it can be bad when we mix with the wrong company. When we see acceptance in our lives, getting accepted by our friends, we become open to influence. We let our guard down. And at times, when we let it down, we unknowingly let ourselves be trapped in the circle of sin, unhealthy influences in the world.

In life, we have our own goals and dreams. And friends too play a part in it whether or not we can reach them. They play an important part in shaping our lives. Therefore, we need to choose what we want in our life before we let our friends choose us.

Thus, the number one factor to change in our lives is the area of friendship.

Friendship is from God and God uses true friend to us.

A true friend;

1. is someone who will love you and not just accept you.
2. accept you the way you are, but won't leave you as you are.(correct you when ya wrong)
3. more commited to the friend than the friendship.
4. won't shrink back from saying things which will help them.
5. strengthen their friends in God, and reminds them of his promises.
6. Help their friends to find strength in God.

1 Samuel 23:15-16.

SO HOW TO SPOT THE FAKE!!
by looking at:
1. the direction of the friendship or relationship.
whether it is beneficial or not.
2. Ask yourself is this where you want to end up.
3. Self destructive behaviour- An untrue friend is incapable of making decision, find trouble with authority, is someone who cannot watch our for themselves.

If they cant watch our for themselves, they cant watch out for you.

4. lack of solid convictions.

so..
if we find that our friends are having a bad influences in our lives we can either walk away from them, or move them out in our lives.

All the best to you people!!

and remember, God promises true friends to us.
God is always there. he never change.

'Greater love has no more than this than to lay a life down for a friend'

thank you jesus for giving me good friends to journey with me in my lives. Amen.